Brown, Marx each raise $15,000-plus in San Luis Obispo race

Two of the four San Luis Obispo mayoral candidates have raised more than $15,000 in campaign contributions, leaving the rest trailing far behind.

Paul Brown leads the mayoral race with campaign contributions totaling nearly $23,000. He has spent $14,405. In addition, a local business owner has spent $6,229 on his campaign through an independent committee.

Jan Marx, also running for mayor, has $16,227, including a $1,000 loan she made to her campaign. Marx has spent $14,700.

Three of the five City Council seats are up for election on the Nov. 2 ballot: the mayoral seat held by Dave Romero and two four-year seats held by Councilmen Allen Settle and Andrew Carter. Four candidates are vying for mayor, and six for a council seat.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for unlimited digital access to our website, apps, the digital newspaper and more.

Current campaign donation disclosures include all money collected through Sept. 30.

A city ordinance limits campaign contributions to $200 per election by anyone other than immediate family.

However, Kristie Molina, owner of the Laguna Village Shopping Center, has contributed $6,229 to Brown’s campaign by forming an independent group named the Independent Expenditure Committee. To date, she is the only contributor to the committee.

Molina could not be reached for comment Friday. But earlier this year, Molina petitioned the City Council for improved access to her shopping center on the corner of Los Osos Valley Road and Madonna Road.

In March, she successfully got approval to restore a left turn from Madonna Road that the city had made illegal in 2007 and to make additional improvements to the center.

However, Molina also lobbied for a traffic signal that would create an intersection between the Laguna Village driveway on Madonna Road and Pereira Drive. The council delayed approving that for at least a year.

Campaign finance statements on file with the City Clerk Elaina Cano show that contributors to Brown’s campaign include French Hospital CEO Alan Iftinuk; City Councilman Carter; Mayor Romero; and rancher-developer Ernie Dalidio.

Contributors to Marx’s campaign include county Supervisor Jim Patterson; Sierra Club director Andrew Christie; and Linda Halisky, Cal Poly dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

Other donations to both campaigns ranged from $99 to $200.

Mayoral candidate Andrew Farrell has raised $1,080, with local attorney John Spatafore among the contributors. Donald Hedrick has raised less than $1,000.

Councilman Carter has raised the most money of the six City Council candidates. He has raised $10,290, which includes a $2,000 loan he made to the campaign. He has spent just under $5,000.

Contributors to his campaign include county Supervisor Adam Hill; Dave Christy, Cal Poly dean of the Orfalea College of Business; San Luis Chamber of Commerce CEO Dave Garth; Romero; Settle; the Homebuilders Association of the Central Coast; and the San Luis Obispo Democratic Club.

Former Councilwoman Kathy Smith, who is running again, has raised $7,105, including a $2,000 loan she made to the campaign. Smith has spent $6,073.

Donors to her campaign include Ferrini Enterprises; Garden Street Terraces developer Hamish Marshall; Settle; and Kristine Judge, a policy adviser for U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Andrea Miller, owner of Spike’s Pub, has raised $2,458, including a $1,000 loan she made to the campaign. She has spent $1,852.

Contributors include downtown bars Bull’s Tavern, Frog and Peach, McCarthy’s, and the Library.City council candidates Dan Carpenter, Terry Mohan, and Arnold Ruiz have all raised less than $1,000.